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I haven’t looked at an EV for the best part of four months but when the scheduled blogger wrote to me to say that he had been unable to solve this one I couldn’t resist the challenge. It took me about six hours in two sessions but I got there in the end.

With many answers that had to be modified before entry a lot of cold solving was required but fairly soon it became apparent that the perimeter and some adjacent answers were entered without modification. It then became a case of seeing which crossing answers to normal clues only had a single common letter which allowed these to be entered in the required modified form. As the grid began fill it became possible to return to those clues that hadn’t been cold solved.

The surplus letters in the clues not leading to an answer that needed to be modified before entry gave the statement LOOK AT IT CYCLONICALLY and of course a ‘cyclone’ can be considered synonymous with the two hidden thematic words.

The outline of the shading applied to the affected letters is shown in yellow on the following diagram. The two symmetrically arranged thematic words that wind through this shaded area are TORNADO and TYPHOON and these were to be highlighted in a different colour.

When the appropriate letter (H) has been entered into the central square, the unshaded area in the middle of the grid reads (from left to right, top to bottom): EYE OF THE STORM.

This was a very tricky (not helped by the typo in 27ac!) but enjoyable puzzle and it may even tempt me to add the EV back into my schedule when the summer is over (if it ever starts!). I needed some help to fully understand 25ac, though it was still one of the first I solved simply from the definition ‘city’, and I think there may be an error in the wordplay for 7dn (though I am happy to be corrected if I am wrong).

{X} = extra letter

Across

1

Simple sport book penned by friend — remarkable (7)

PATBALL

B (book) in PA{L} (friend) TALL (remarkable)

7

One may draw tumult once to jail (6)

PENCIL

PEN (jail) C{O}IL (tumult once)

11

Feasible Old English Queen’s a remarkable person (5, hyphenated)

ONE-ER

ON (feasible) {O} (old) E (English) ER (Queen)

14

Overdraft’s satisfactory, egad! (4)

ODSO

OD’S (overdraft’s) O{K} (satisfactory)

15

Disquiet suppressed by German criminal (8)

ANGGSTER

GANGSTER – ANGST (disquiet) in GER (German)

16

Cards showing fickle person securing love (5)

TATRO

TAROT – O (love) in TART (fickle person)

17

Recipe the last word in some Japanese cuisine (5)

ARMEN

RAMEN – R (recipe) AMEN (the last word)

18

Never coy when rearranging transfer again (8)

RECVONEY

RECONVEY – *(NEVER COY)

19

Wave almost entirely doing for marine creature (4)

SEAL

SE[a] (wave almost) AL{L} (entirely)

20

Certainly taken aback, enthralled by dainty jewel (7, hyphenated)

CAETSYE

CATS-EYE – YES (certainly) reversed in CATE (dainty)

22

Evoking slime containing fuel, found around Australia (6)

OIOZLY

OOZILY – OZ (Australia) in OILY (containing fuel)

24

Policewoman’s behind, tailing Unionist? Take to higher level (6)

UWAPFT

UPWAFT – U (Unionist) PW (policewoman) AFT (behind)

27

Hear____ is replaced — uro cashed as result (6)

ESUDCO

ESCUDO – ‘hear Escudo’ is an anagram of ‘Euro cashed’ (there was a typo in the clue!)

PLAYGOER – GO (success) in PLAYER (lyric) – I have been unable to equate ‘lyric’ with ‘player’. The person who plays a lyre or harp is a lyrist.

8

Using belt secures equipment picked up in outer districts (7)

ENGRDIS

ENGIRDS – RIG (equipment) reversed in ENDS (outer districts)

9

Astute sovereign ditching queen (4)

CUTE

C{O}UTE[r] (sovereign ditching queen)

10

Scottish herald drolly put out over French refusal (8, 2 words)

LORD LYON

*(DROLLY) {N}ON (French refusal)

12

Nothing suspect about molybdenum containing metal (6)

OSMSOU

OSMOUS O (nothing) MO (molybdenum) in SUS (suspect)

13

Allowing pardon of mercenary (5)

VENAL

VEN{I}AL(allowing pardon)

20

African languages? Copper translated Tshi in carbon copy (8)

CUSHITIC

CU (copper) *(TSHI) I (in) {C}C (carbon copy)

21

I try to upset American regarding metal (8)

YTTIORUS

YTTRIOUS – *(I TRY TO) US (American)

23

Party publications start to show dull attitude (8)

ZDOINESS

DOZINESS – DO (party) ZINES (publications) S[how]

25

Mostly threadbare city, a precursor to demise? (6)

PNALES

NAPLES– NAPLES[s] (mostly threadbare) – I needed to ask a friend (thanks Eileen) for an explanation for the second half of the clue. Apparently it is a reference to the saying ‘see Naples and die’.

26

Arrangement of hair appropriate to dissolute poet (7)

FEORTOP

FORETOP – FOR (appropriate to) *(POET)

29

Verdi opera well sent up? Shame (5)

AIDOS

AID{A} (Verdi opera) SO (well) reversed

30

Groups of Indian officials translated ‘Shalom’ (6)

OMAHLS

OMLAHS – *(SHALOM)

31

Steal pannier? Scots tattled (6)

LYCPED

CLYPED – CLY (steal) PED (pannier)

32

Obstruction from net under drooping ornamental chain (6)

ANKLET

{L}ANK (drooping) LET (obstruction from net {tennis})

35

Fell over a shield (5)

LPETA

PELTA – PELT (fell {skin}) A

37

Secret police once turned up chasing ship’s record (4)

OGPU

{L}OG (ship’s record) UP reversed

39

Show of affection is seen in top pictures, looking up (4)

KISS

IS in SK{Y} (top pictures) reversed – no, not the movie channels but the upper rows of pictures in a gallery.

This entry was posted on Saturday, July 30th, 2011 at 1:30 am and is filed under Enigmatic Variations.
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3 Responses to “Enigmatic Variations No. 976 Wind by Kcit”

There wasn’t a typo in 27a in the proof I sent back. (Well, there was, but I’d circled it and pointed arrows at it. They corrected the other one I spotted, so I can’t absolutely grumble. Well, not as much.)

PLAY-GOER is LAY (=lyric) + GO (success) in PER (=A). Yeah, PER = A is always nasty, and catches me out when I’m solving as well.

As the scheduled blogger, I’d like to thank Mr. G for leaping into the fray when my arms and art failed me.
It’s a nice-looking puzzle, but, away from my regular solving partner, I just couldn’t quite make the necessary breakthroughs.

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